Ulster Unionist Leader, Steve Aiken OBE MLA, has condemned comments by Sinn Fein`s Mary Lou McDonald attempting to justify the Provisional IRA’s campaign of terror.
Mr Aiken said:
‘Mary Lou McDonald’s comments are an insult to all the many innocent victims of terrorism - on all sides in the Troubles. If the last decades have taught us anything it is that violence is not only counter-productive, it creates an immovable reluctance for anyone to engage with or trust those who glamorise or seek to identify with those who perpetrated terrorism.
“Remarkably for a political leader who says she is willing to reach out to Unionists, Mary Lou McDonald has demonstrated a complete misunderstanding of the abhorrence we all feel for the Provisional IRA and its campaign of butchery and ethnic cleansing.
“There are many thousands who felt aggrieved, on all sides. Instead of resorting to terror, they sought to achieve change through peaceful and democratic means. It’s a pity Mary Lou McDonald didn’t reflect on the anniversary of the referendum on the Belfast Agreement and its commitment to peace - maybe Sinn Fein are seeking to rewrite the history of this as well.”